Goodness no, don't keep it! :) I think wall to well carpet on the stairs is just a nightmare (unless it is a patterned runner or something.) It is prone to so much dirt and wear, and I hate how fuzzy it looks on the ends. The only reason I can imagine people have it on purpose is perhaps because they have small children learning to navigate the stairs and they think carpet is less slippery?

I second what My3 dogs wrote. Carpeted stairs are safer and easier for dogs.

I agree as well, that with some stairways, carpeting is safer. The exception would be if foam was used under it as well, which isn't common but I've seen in some homes. The foam can make stepping down very unstable. Another reason the stairs could be carpeted is because they weren't built with risers, but with wood planks instead and the cost to cover them with wood or laminate was cost preventive.

I think a lot of stairs, particularly in homes built ca 1975-present, have stairs constructed of inexpensive wood that isn't meant to be finished with stain. They're designed to be carpeted from the get-go. So as folks begin ripping out the carpet of that era, they do the downstairs, then the upstairs, then . . . dang. So they just leave the carpeting.

I do see the point about slipping, though. But I think that can be addressed with a nice runner.

The only stairs I have ever slipped down have been carpeted.

I have heard the slipping concern before. But like daisychain01, I have only slipped on carpeted stairs. I have also heard that for the fake wood options, there are not good trim pieces for stairs. My personal first choice would be all hardwood for everything, including the stairs.

We prefer hardwood and had it throughout the house. But after a couple of years had a runner made for the stairs - safer for us, much safer for the dog and MUCH quieter with little boys running up and down! All depends on your personal aesthetic and life needs so do what works for you.

I think the slipping issue for me has been on stairs with narrow depth treads and risers and too thick carpeting. It makes it almost like a slide with not enough definition to plant your feet firmly. I can understand that a good runner, properly installed would make life easier for dogs and kids, but we haven't had trouble with slipping on our hardwood stairs.

I live in a tract home that had carpet everywhere. We have put hardwood/tile on the main level, but it would be a fortune to hardwood the stairs, hall and four bedrooms. I've thought of doing just the stairs and hall but have never gotten around to it. Yes, there is cheap wood under the stair carpet and I'm not sure if hardwood can even be installed over it.

My sis-in-law has hardwood on her stairs. It is very noisy going up and down and the treads have worn and don't look very nice, especially with her beautiful furnishings. I am surprised she never had a runner installed.

I totally understand this. Aside from what other people have mentioned, if you are going from all carpet to other flooring, the stairs are a headache, because you will often need to redo the underlying treads, too. The treads feel a lot smaller without the padding and carpet on them. A staircase that's okay with carpet can feel like a ladder if you just remove the carpet and don't do anything else.

I moved to a home 13 yrs. ago that had hardwood for the main floor & w/w off-white carpeting on the stairway, upstairs hallway & bedrooms. How I hated that carpet! The stairway was the worst. It required nearly daily vacuuming to look decent, and then showed wear, not just from use, but from all the vacuuming. Someone above mentioned the fuzzy look at the curve of the treads - yuck!

I thought it brought the whole look of the house down but we had priorities - kids in college/grad school & 2 weddings - so we only had it all replaced with hardwood last year.

The pros are the obvious better appearance and ease of cleaning. The cons are that the noise is no longer muffled by carpet. We're empty-nesters who wear soft-soled indoor only shoes or slippers most times, so that's not an issue for us. For a busy household w/ wearers of heels, etc., it could be annoying.

My 2 dogs have experienced navigating uncarpeted stairs at our lake place since they were pups, so they adjusted easily. But I would have concerns with an older, less steady dog who wasn't accustomed to them.

For me, I feel more sure-footed carrying a full laundry basket up/down the wood treads than I did on carpeted ones.

I think runners are a good compromise for those who prefer some coverage, but I am a happy camper to finally have all carpet -save for area rugs - out of my house.

We purchased our home two years ago. Hardwood throughout. We redid all the hardwoods, including the stairs, and then had a runner installed on the stairs. It is soft underfoot and quiet. Growing up we did not have a stair runner and while I love hardwoods, those stairs magnified all the stomping my six siblings and I did. Not sure how my mother stood it! I have small children and the runner is nice for them to sit on when slowly going down the stairs. I would do it again! But I do love my hardwood floors.

It is expensive to carpet stairs, I cannot imagine the expense to put hardwood on them. It may have been a cost factor?

I always feel uncomfortable and unstable on hardwood stairs with no runner. If you fall on carpeted stairs, at least it is a soft landing. We live in a ranch with a finished basement, which is, what the kids call a "sea of carpet". They like it. Kids like to roll around on the ground and like the softness of carpet. The stairs are also carpet and not vacuumed enough (not my job).

Falls are # 1 cause of accidental death. I work in trauma & emergency medicine and treat MANY people who die from falls on stairs in the home.

Agree carpet may increase the risk of slipping & falling. However, it provides padding and may decrease injury from falls.

Had the stairs of my 1920's house rebuilt to be code compliant and learned carpeting is significantly less expensive than putting in HW.

Despite this, I went with HW and plan to maybe do a runner in the future.

I think also noise can be a problem. I have a condo with floating stairs. They are beautiful but very loud. AL lot of the units have carpeted over them.

I like runners on my stairs... definitely quieter and imo less slippery.... only exception ime is when wearing new leather soled shoes-- carpeted stairs are very slippery with them- I always make sure I hold onto the handrail if wearing new heels!! but, hardwood steps are very slippery if you just have socks on (unless you have sweaty feet)! and, dogs slip much, much more easily on hardwood stairs!

I had an all hardwood house, with carpeted stairs. My carpet on the stairs looked like a runner, so cost wasn't a factor. Carpet is softer looking and quieter to walk on. I also had a house that had all hardwood stairs, it looked good in that house, but not in the other one, because of the location a shape of the stairs.

Ditto!

We have hardwood throughout except for on stairs.

I'd love to have hardwood steps,however....

Our home has 3 levels (excl basement) and was quite costly to do hardwood steps. ( quote we had was close to $10k, and then we'd still have to add a runner)

Cost, combined with an aging Lab, was enough reason to rule it out. I saw her tumble done on carpet enough times to make my heart stop and didn't want to add any more risk with wood.

Totally agree hardwoods are more slippery for dogs. But I also agree hardwood seems LESS slippery than carpet for humans (except for perhaps in socks). I'm not sure I can explain why, but it might be that your foot is making contact with a large flat surface on hardwoods, vs. "floating" on top of cushy surface with carpet. I had carpet on my stairs and slipped numerous times (always carrying a laundry basket!). Had the carpet ripped off and the stairs refinished and I've not slipped once since. My footing feels much more secure, particularly in bare feet. But now my poor dog has all kinds of slipping problems, when before she ran up the stairs fine.

If you've ever fallen on stairs, both carpeted and not - you would want carpet on them.

I hate carpet and have wood everywhere but carpet on the stairs. When I was building my house I did a lot of research and discovered the bulk of it recommends carpeted stairs for safety. I considered wooden stairs with a runner, but I've had that before and found all the nooks and crannies were horrible to clean. And I've had a 1920's era wooded staircase (two sets actually - one for the family and guests and the second hidden one for servants that sadly didn't come with the house when we purchased it) - had to add these rubber stair treads on them so they weren't so slippery for my older relatives which sort of ruined the beauty of the wood. rubber non-slip stair treads

I think some of us may be talking apples and oranges here, a plush carpet with thick padding for a cushioned feel vs a thinner carpet or runner with minimal padding that works to preserve carpet life not a cushy feel. They will perform very differently and offer a very different sense of stability to your foot as you climb or descend the stairs. In the end, you have to put on your stairs what works for you, your house, your kids your pets.

Runner from my house

This might be less stable feeling.

I like carpet on stairs because it helps my mom and is less slippery

We removed all of our carpet and replaced it with Vinyl plank flooring.. But we have scheduled carpet to be installed on the staircase... turns out that hard wood was terrible on our knees...especially when we are carrying laundry up and down the stairs.

The floor I got would require custom made stair coverings so that was a financial consideration. but the best reason i can give for carpeting the stairs is we have dogs. they slide on the floor sometimes and i would not have them struggle with hard stairs.